OBSERVATION MISSIONS OF THE UNPO (UNREPRESENTED NATIONS AND PEOPLES ORGANIZATION) IN ABKHAZIA, 1992–1993

Abstract

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) began to take shape in the late 1980s. The organization’s primary objective is to support nations and peoples that lack international recognition and, consequently, are not represented in the United Nations. As a result, the participation of such entities in international processes remains minimal. The organization was formally established in February 1991 at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Among its founding members was the Republic of Georgia, which held membership status from 11 February 1991 until 31 July 1992, when it acceded to the United Nations. Accession to the UN constitutes the principal reason for the termination of an entity’s membership in the UNPO. In Georgia, cooperation with the organization was carried out through the National Democratic Party.

In 1992, the UNPO conducted two missions in Georgia: the first in July, prior to the outbreak of hostilities, and the second in November of the same year, following the genocide of Georgians in Gagra and the violation of the Moscow Agreement of 3 September. The first mission was personally led by the organization’s chairman, Michael van Walt van Praag, who visited Abkhazia at the invitation of the Abkhaz separatist leader, Vladislav Ardzinba. In Sukhumi, he held meetings with both Abkhaz and Georgian deputies. During the second mission, Michael van Walt van Praag met with the Chairman of the State Council and the de facto head of state, Eduard Shevardnadze.

Keywords: UNPO; International Organization; War in Abkhazia.